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Stage 2 & blew my 4EAT. Possibly 5mt swap. Help appreciated.

('03-'05) 
2K views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  amorgan93 
#1 · (Edited)
Well My 2004 (actual manufacture date is March 2003) Forester XT is stage 2, and i finally killed my 4eat. The transmission always had a little whine coming from the front differential on deceleration, but the fluid level always looked good. Then the front differential developed a very small leak from what i thought was the axle seal. By small i mean it would drip a spot about the size of a quarter after sitting all night. I always checked the diff level before i left in the mornings, and added appropriate amount, never let it get low. Not long ago i was driving home from a friends house one night, and over my heat/air i heard a loud moaning noise coming from the front of the car. I drove slowly back home, and when i checked the differential oil level, it didnt even register on the dipstick. Apparently it leaked most of it out at my friends house and i didn't notice. I added fluid until it was at the full mark again. went to see the girlfriend, and after the car sat for ~6 hours, there was a giant puddle of oil under the car. Added more oil to get it home and its been sitting every since (about 3 weeks ago). Got under the car today and there's a crack all across the bottom of of the front differential housing, and up the side. Can see a tad bit through the crack, no wonder its leaking all the gear oil out. Since the car has been stage 2, ive brake boosted it maybe 3 times, and only to about 6 psi, and maybe 10 times total since ive had the car (2 years). Trans fluid has been changed, and has big transmission cooler up front, but that doesnt help the differential.

It seems that its cheaper to buy an entire transmission than it is to replace the front differential, housing, etc.... I missed an opportunity a while back, guy had an 04 Forester XT 100k miles, that had a perfectly good transmission, had been in wreck, could have got the trans for $200, but at the time i didnt need it. Good luck finding another XT being parted out.

I was considering converting to a 5 speed, as i love straight drives (not the biggest fan of automatics). Most people say sell the AT car and buy an MT car, but that's not an option for me now. Ive done a bunch of reading on AT to MT conversions, but only a couple are forester XT specific, or specific for Direct control 4eat cars. I have a general idea of the parts list.

1) clutch assembly (clutch, brake, gas pedal)
2) trans and Possible driveshaft, matching rear diff
3) Possibly ECU
4) Possibly ABS controller
5) Possibly front axles
6) Misc interior parts
7) Possibly crossmember
8) Possible gauge cluster
9) master/slave for clutch
10) flywheel & clutch

few questions

1) My forester is DBW, while i'm pretty sure 02-07 WRXs are cable operated. So how would the clutch assembly work with my car? or does it absolutely have to come from a FXT. WRXs are much, much more common than FXTs.

2) Some people say ABS controller and ECU arent necessary that it can be wired to work. Some say it is required.

3) Some say that the crossmember is necessary, some say they are the same

4) is the driveshaft necessary for the 5mt swap in general, or just if the rear differential is being swapped. Are the Axle shafts the same on the 04+ FXTs, as on the WRXs?

5) i know forester xt's are 4.44 final drive, and apparently WRXs are 3.54 or 3.70s. Auto WRXs are apparently 4.11 (same as manual FXT). How would the 2.5L forester respond to WRX gearing?

6) will a WRX rear differential work in an FXT, and i would lose my rear LSD wouldnt I? and are the WRX axle shafts required?

Is there anyone out there that has done a FXT that can help me?
ANY help is appreciated, i havent decided what i want to do with the car.
 

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